The Godfather, Part II (1974) Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall Written by Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay) and Mario Puzo (screenplay, novel) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola When Ryan and I were watching the AFI Top 100, we decided that it would probably be a good idea to save The Godfather Part … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: The Godfather Part II (#32)
Category: Reviews
(Storytelling) The Breath of Life
I watched the series finale of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland a few days ago, and I have to say that the ending of it kind of encapsulated what was wrong with the series as a whole. There were a number of surprisingly dark moments but they paled in comparison to the writers' commitment … Continue reading (Storytelling) The Breath of Life
The AFI Top 100 Films: The Godfather (#3)
The Godfather (1972) Starring Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and James Caan Written by Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay) and Mario Puzo (screenplay, novel) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola I've become fascinated with stories of regular people becoming extraordinarily bad ones. I'm not talking about the "fairy tales from a villain's perspective" story that have become a … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: The Godfather (#3)
The AFI Top 100 Films: Gone With The Wind (#4)
Gone With The Wind (1939) Starring Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard Written by Sidney Howard (screenplay) and Margaret Mitchell (novel) Directed by Victor Fleming When I was but a wee leveret in the wilds of Baltimore City, I loved Gone With The Wind. This was a time before it (or … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Gone With The Wind (#4)
The AFI Top 100 Films: The Wizard of Oz (#6)
Starring Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton Written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf (screenplay) and L. Frank Baum (novel) Directed by Victor Fleming 1939 was a very good year to Victor Fleming. He won an Academy Award for (co-)directing Margaret Mitchell's southern epic Gone With the Wind, and helmed what's arguably an even … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: The Wizard of Oz (#6)
The AFI Top 100 Films: The Graduate (#7)
The Graduate (1967) Starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft Written by Calden Willingham and Buck Henry (screenplay), Charles Webb (novel) Directed by Mike Nichols The Graduate reminds me an awful lot of Harold and Maude, which came out about four years later. Both feature young, intelligent, sensitive heroes who have no idea what they want … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: The Graduate (#7)
The AFI Top 100 Films: On The Waterfront (#8)
On the Waterfront (1954) Starring Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint and Lee J. Cobb Written by Budd Schulberg Directed by Elia Kazan Terry Malloy (Brando) is a New Jersey dock worker whose brother is in the mob. That mob runs the Worker's Union, and as long as you play by the rules you get the … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: On The Waterfront (#8)
The AFI Top 100 Films: Schindler’s List (#9)
Schindler's List (1993) Starring Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley Written by Steven Zaillian (screenplay) and Thomas Keneally (novel) Directed by Steven Spielberg The Holocaust is one of those singular events in history that's very difficult to wrap your head around. How could an entire country of people stand by and allow the systemic … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Schindler’s List (#9)
The AFI Top 100 Films: Singin’ in the Rain (#10)
Singin' in the Rain (1952) Starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds Written by Adolph Green and Betty Comden Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly It's interesting to me that so many movies chronicle the rise of the "talkies" and the demise of so many silent film stars once pictures had sound. It … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Singin’ in the Rain (#10)
The AFI Top 100 Films: It’s a Wonderful Life (#11)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore Written by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra (screenplay) and Philip Van Doren Stern (story) Directed by Frank Capra Part of what makes It's a Wonderful Life such an indelible movie is its inextricable tie to Christmas and the mood we all … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: It’s a Wonderful Life (#11)
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 